US warns of implications of UN veto on Syria

Washington, Oct 6 (IANS) Upset over the Russian and Chinese vetoes of a UN Security Council resolution threatening sanctions against Syria, the United States has said nations would have to take responsibility for implications of their vote on the ground there. India had abstained from the vote, saying it does not “place any responsbility on the (Syrian) opposition to abjure violence.”

However, state department spokesperson Victoria Nuland Wednesday declined to spell out if there would be any consequences for countries like India which abstained from voting on the resolution because it “does not accommodate our concerns about threat of sanctions.”

“I’m not going to speak to the abstentions,” she said in response to a question noting “We had nine votes, which was enough for passage. It was the vetoes that killed these resolutions.”

But, Nuland said: Countries have to take responsibility for the decision that they made yesterday and any implications it might have on the ground in Syria.”

As US ambassador to the UN Susan “Rice made clear yesterday after the vote, we obviously consider that the Security Council failed yesterday to address the urgent moral challenge and the growing threat to international peace and security caused by the Syrian regime’s brutality,” she said.

“We firmly believe that history will bear out which nations were right and which were on the wrong side in this vote yesterday.”

India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Hardeep Puri, announcing New Delhi’s abstention, noted the resolution does not condemn the violence perpetrated by the Syrian opposition.

“Nor does it place any responsibility on the opposition to abjure violence and engage with the Syrian authorities for redressal of their grievances through a peaceful political process,” he said, explaining India’s decision to keep away from the vote.

The resolution was rejected late Tuesday by a 9-2 vote, with four abstentions, including India.